Convicted of false allegations

[Looking 4 help]

Hi

A family member has been convicted of a false allegation of rape. I need some advice and not sure where to start looking.

Where can I get information on being convicted and sentenced in UK while actually having dual nationality with another country. My family member has lived overseas for around 9 years and came back to visit family.

The whole family here and overseas are absolutely shocked and traumatised by this. We all feel so helpless.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Faith]

Sorry that you find yourself in this situation.
Has the family member been sentenced yet?

I assume your thoughts will be on whether or not you can appeal. You will need to find a good appeals solicitor who specialises in these kind of cases (Chris Saltrese is highly recommended)

A solicitor will look at the case to see if there are grounds for appeal. Common grounds include new evidence (evidence that was available at the time will not be accepted as grounds for appeal...even if it wasn't used.) and abuse of process, where the police or CPS have broken rules (not guidelines) in the process.

Take Care.

[Rights Fighter]

Having dual nationality would not make any difference as it is British Law you are concerned with if the alleged rape occurred in the UK.

Has he attempted to appeal before?

After the trial was he provided with a document called "Advice on Appeal?" He would have been entitled to one whether it was positive or negative.

If an appeal has been lodged there is not really much anything else that can be done but if not you need to choose a solicitor carefully (Faith's choice is an excellent one) and first find out if your family member is eligible for funding. If not then you will have to pay - this can cost around £5K depending on how much work id done on the matter.

[fighter]

Hi looking for help! sorry to hear about the family member. There are three sticky on this forum page that tells you about what to expect in prison, sentencing and first visit to prison. I hope these would give you some useful information.

And then you can also think of appealing, getting a solicitor for the appeal. The forum would be able to support you with this and recommend solicitors to approach.

welcome to the forum...

[Looking 4 help]

Thank you Faith, RF and Fighter for your responses. It is good to know that there are good people out there willing to listen and pass on their knowledge.

RF, yes an advice has been received, it suggests we find new evidence. Pretty hard when there was none in the first place. Thank you and Faith for your suggestion of Chris Saltrese.

Fighter please clarify " there are three sticky on this forum page" sorry but I do not understand what you mean. Do you also agree with the recommendations of solicitor for an appeal.

Thanks again all!!!

[Rights Fighter]

Sometimes appeals can succeed on other arguments not related to fresh evidence. Sometimes the judge misdirects the jury (usually results in a retrial so need to find better representation for that) or if the Crown failed to follow proper procedures in disclosing evidence to the defence.